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SBU to host Common Core workshop for area teachers June 18

Jun 14, 2013 |

St. Bonaventure University will host a full-day workshop June 18 for area teachers on the Common Core standards and how best to implement them in the classroom.

The free workshop runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in the San Damiano Room of Francis Hall. It is sponsored by the Cattaraugus-Allegany Teacher Center and the Bonaventure Education Association. (Due to demand, workshop registration has closed.)

The keynote speaker is Brian Pete, who will discuss “How to Teach Thinking within the Common Core.”

Pete is co-founder of Robin Fogarty & Associates, an international consulting firm. He has a rich background in professional development and has worked exclusively with the adult learner for the past 10 years in schools throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

The hands-on workshop will have teachers work with the 21 complex cognitive skills that are most prominent within the new standards, but in a generalized form so that they are applicable to every student, no matter what grade level or subject — and without loading extra work on teachers who already have more than enough planning to do, according to Pete.

“Integration of the Common Core Curriculum is an essential component of the Regents’ Reform Agenda in New York state,” said Dr. Joseph Zimmer, dean of SBU’s School of Education.

Educators in New York from preschool through college are going to be expected to integrate these national standards in their teaching, Zimmer said.

“Brian Pete’s workshop will help all teachers work on the most difficult part of the Common Core, improving students’ thinking skills,” he said.

A bipartisan effort pioneered four years ago by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, the Common Core approach sets ambitious goals for math, reading and writing skills as children move through school.

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About the University: As a leading Catholic Franciscan University, St. Bonaventure University cultivates graduates who are confident and creative communicators, collaborative leaders and team members, and innovative problem solvers who are respectful of themselves, others, and the diverse world around them. We are establishing pathways to internships, graduate schools and careers. Our students are becoming extraordinary.